February 05, 2013

Uncle Beefy + Coco+Kelley = Modern Mexicana & Churros

Kids, come this time of year you can bet that those of us living in the Pacific Northwest that have been staring down grey skies for several weeks will start dreaming of sunnier locales. Well, turns out that Cassandra of Coco+Kelley (a fellow Northwest blogger) put those dreams to some stylishly creative use. With the February chill, Cassandra put a spicier spin on your ordinary Valentine's Day festivities and came up with a "Modern Mexicana" fiesta to share with all the ones you love. ¡Perfecto!

So when she called out to your Uncle to whip up some of my cha-cha-churros to round out her vision I was more than happy to share some o' my sugar! Thus, I give to you homemade Churros (recipe below) with 3 different chocolate dips ~ White Chocolate with Orange & Almond, Milk Chocolate Cinnamon Spice, and Chocolate & Chile (you'll find my recipes for the dips over on Coco+Kelley).

I always had it in my mind that churros were going to be far more complicated to make at home. But one go around and you'll be amazed how simple these hot, fresh, and tasty treats come together.

Update: Thanks to the kindness of Jo writing in stating that she had problems with the batter being runny, I've amended the recipe, which originally stated "8 large eggs", to now read "4 extra large eggs" and that's precisely what I would stick with to get a successful result. I just did a double-check recipe test and this worked out perfectly. Thanks so much, Jo! Sorry, kids! I swear I can cook. Writing recipes? Looks like I need a little more practice in that department.

For churros batter: Place milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a
saucepan and, over medium heat, stir until butter is melted and sugar is fully dissolved. Reduce heat
to medium-low. Add flour to wet ingredients and stir briskly with a wooden spoon until shiny
dough mass forms (about 1 minute). Remove from heat and transfer dough to a large bowl and allow to cool (about 10 minutes). With an electric mixer running (or a standing mixer with paddle attachment), beat in the eggs, 1 at a time and
keep beating until the dough turns smooth, shiny, and sticky.

In a large pot over medium heat, bring oil up to
350°F.

Place batter into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (for skinnier churros "sticks" similar to those shown here, use a smaller star tip). In small batches, pipe churros batter into hot oil in 3 1/2- to 4-inch-long
ribbons (use knife or, my favorite, kitchen scissors, to cut the batter at end of star tip) and
allow batter to gently slide into oil. Fry until a deep golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side (depending on size of star tip used). Transfer to paper towels to drain and cool. Gently toss in the cinnamon sugar to fully coat. Best served warm.

I now have the direct link/s to the post on Coco+Kelley that feature the recipes for the chocolate sauces! And here's another tip! They also make great bases for hot chocolates... just add hot milk to taste! Enjoy!

Love it! I just saw your post on coco+kelly and wanted to get the recipe for churros! I had the best churros in Barcelona (dipped them in chocolate!) and have been looking for an authentic recipe. Excited to give this a try. Keep putting up these great posts for us. Thanks!

Just made a batch. After following the directions exactly, my dough was the consistency of runny pancake batter. I had to add two and a half more cups of flour. Then the dough was perfect and they turned out just great. Has anyone successfully made them with just two cups of flour?

Hi Jo! Sorry to hear that the recipe didn't work out for you. Hmmm? I've never had that problem before and I've made these several times before. However, I will make up another batch tonight and see if I'm missing something somehow. Reading over it doesn't appear that anything is askew with the recipe but, ddmittedly, I was putting this post together in the wee hours so doesn't hurt to double check. I'll follow up with you again later tonight! :)

Okay, Jo, I'm back! I tried out the recipe again as promised and as I had it written and, sure enough, all went well... until the eggs! This time around I happened to have "extra large" eggs on hand and, once I reached 4 eggs I knew that was sufficient - 8 of those eggs would surely have created 'runny pancake batter'! So, while I know I used smaller eggs the last time, I'm not sure how 8 would have worked previously, anyway. I'm chalking it up to a kitchen mystery and humbly thanking you for writing in so I could correct the recipe for all to enjoy! Cheers!

Hmmmm... I'm not sure really? But I hear that there are some great gluten-free flours out there now so it seems there would be a good chance that you could get your cha cha churro on! Let me know if you happen to try! Good luck! :)